This Thing Called Life
by JeminyGirls
Summary: Lily Evans was abused and mistreated by her mother. James Potter was beaten and harrassed by his father. What will happen when these two teens become Head Boy and Head Girl in their 7th year at Hogwarts?
1. A New Year

"…and she has been fresh and rude and disrespectful to me since the day she was born! Robert, we need to do something about this! She doesn't listen to anyone anymore; she thinks she can just tell me what to do…"

"GAH! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Lily yelled into her pillow. She had locked herself in her room, but it didn't stop her from hearing her mother's voice complaining about her, once again. 

_'I cant wait till I'm 18,' _she thought to herself._  'Then I'll be out of here.  She'll see. I'm not going to take anymore crap from her…'_

"…and she just doesn't understand! Parents are supposed to tell their children what to do! She isn't supposed to tell us what she's doing, I decide that! I choose what she wears and how she acts, not her…"

_'…and she'll be heartbroken. Her only remaining daughter, out in the world, running around by herself… no! I'll find a guy… we'll run around together, move away from here, have a family, and excommunicate Mom and Dad from us…'_

          Lily Evans was a witch. Literally.  She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  She was very smart and beautiful, but unknown to most of the students.  Lily liked to keep hidden behind books, projects, homework, or anything else that would take her mind off her family.  Lily's mother was overprotective, abusive, stubborn, and just plain annoying.  Her father was too intimidated by her mother to help her, so he just basically went along with everything Rose (her mother) said.  Lily did have one other sibling, Petunia; however, Petunia had somehow grown up "differently" than Lily, and became an all around slut by her 16th birthday.  _'She's probably off laying someone right now,'  _Lily thought.  All of a sudden, there was a banging noise on her bedroom door. 

          "Lily Marie Evans, open up that door THIS INSTANT!" her mother's voice bellowed. Lily had no choice, she knew what was coming sooner or later…

          She opened the door, and sure enough, she was greeted with a slap in the face from her mother.  "HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME, BITCH! I have done NOTHING but raise you under my roof for 16 years, and THIS is how you treat me? I hope I don't have to remind you that you are a mistake, you were never meant to be born from me!" With that, her mother delivered a gut-wrenching punch to Lily's stomach and scratched her face and arms until they bled.  Then, she left. 

          Lily dissolved on the floor in tears.  This was the type of pain she had to endure every day.  "She… is such a… bitch…" Lily whispered through her tears.  Suddenly, a thought came to her. _'I can run away…' _she thought._  'I'll take my broom and I'll shrink all my stuff and fly to Hogwarts…'  _With that, she began packing.

"JAMES HAROLD POTTER! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" his father's drunk voice slurred.  James had no choice but to obey, for he knew what was coming sooner or later.

          "Yes father?" James asked with a sigh as soon as he reached the kitchen. 

          **WHAM!** James was hit with a punch in the face.  And another and another… soon, his body began to go limp. Tears came to his eyes, but he didn't cry.  Crying was a sign of weakness.  His father had told him so when he was a little boy.

          'But who am I to listen to my father, anyways?' he asked himself. His mother appeared in the doorway just then. "Harry… stop beating up James for a minute, please… We'll go have some fun in the bedroom," she said seductively.

          James's father stopped the punching and grabbed his wife by the waist. "Sure thing, babe…" He carried her all the way to the bedroom. James, too grossed out to witness his parents having sex for the 5th time that week, ran to his room and slammed the door shut. 'God, I can't wait until I'm 18,' he thought.  'Then I'll get away from here…'

          James was a wizard.  He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, also.  He was top of his class, tied with some girl he barely knew called Lily Evans.  James had jet black hair that stuck up in various places and tan skin.  His body was hard with muscles, for he was on the Quidditch team and had recently been named Captain.  His father was constantly drunk, abusive, and a bum.  His mother was a prostitute and barely knew he existed; she lived for sex and sex only.  They didn't approve of him going to Hogwarts, but each year he went anyways.  It was the only place he felt welcome. 

          James was one of the 3 most popular boys in school.  He and his two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, had formed a group called the Marauders.  They were all hot, smart, and wanted by all girls. However, each boy had a different personality:

          Sirius was the ladies man.  He had a new girlfriend every week, and they were always blondes.  This didn't stop him from being a nice guy, however. He was 3rd in the class, tied with Remus.  Sirius was very tall, at about 6 feet 3 inches.  He enjoyed playing pranks and he was a beater on the Quidditch team.  

          Remus was the bookworm.  Actually, this is just what he appeared like. He was really just as outgoing as Sirius, but he took his studies more seriously and did not use girls the way Sirius did.  Remus had a girlfriend named Danni Harris, and they had been going out for 7 months.  Danni was Lily Evans's best friend, and was one of the only people who knew about her abusive life. Remus was the keeper on the Quidditch team, and, like Sirius, James, Danni, and Lily, was in Gryffindor.  He was about 6 feet tall, and also enjoyed playing pranks with his fellow Marauders.

          Finally, James was what many people called the bad boy.  He barely dated but was wanted by almost every girl in school.  He had this attitude about him that was so calm and cool and made him extremely sexy in many girls' eyes.  This, however, was just an act, and only Sirius and Remus knew this.  James was top of the class and one of the 6th year prefects, along with Remus, Danni, and Lily.  He was the seeker on the Quidditch team, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, and he was generally as loud and outgoing as Sirius, but he could be very serious (no pun intended) sometimes.  He felt everyday that he was constantly missing something, that he was looking for someone, that he needed more…

          Danni Harris was Lily's best friend.  She had shoulder length brown hair, silver eyes, and freckles.  Danni was about 5 feet 5 inches, making her average height.  Although she had been dating Remus for 7 months, she only hung around with him when Lily was in the library or studying in their dorm (which was a lot, actually).  She was a prefect for Gryffindor and about 5th in her class.  She was a chaser on the Quidditch team and lived with her cousin because she had been orphaned at birth.

          Lily Evans was what most of Hogwarts called a "social outcast." Only Danni and Remus knew the truth about her life and her parents.  Remus was Lily's only other friend.  Lily was short (about 5 feet 2 inches) and had long, wavy red hair that reached all the way down to her hips.  She wore it up most of the time, however, for fear of anyone noticing her.  She also always wore pale foundation, giving her skin a ghostly and sickly glow.  She had bright emerald green eyes, but covered them with brown colored contacts.  Only Danni knew how beautiful Lily really was, and was constantly trying to persuade her to let her beauty show.

James heard knocking on his bedroom door.  'Oh God,' he thought.  'Now I have to put up with a drunk, laid, and abusive father.'  He opened the door to reveal his father standing there with a manic grin on his face.

          "Now you will get what's coming to you…" he said.  James thought fast, he knew his father could kill him if he really wanted to.  So, he slammed the door shut in his fathers face and locked it.  He quickly packed some clothes into one of his trunks while his father tried to break down the door. After shrinking his trunk, he grabbed his broomstick, opened the window, and said goodbye to the place he once called home.  He was running away, heading back to his real home, Hogwarts.

          "Come on, broom… Go faster, please!" James spoke quietly to his broom.  He could see the castle of Hogwarts in the distance; he knew he was practically there…

**          THUD! **He flew right into a tree, head first. "Ouch…" he moaned as he tried to balance on his broom.  Finally, after another painful 5 minutes of flying, he reached Hogwarts. He landed his broom and ran up the stairs and inside the castle to the Headmaster's office.  Once inside, he spoke with Dumbledore about his parents and asked permission to ride the Hogwarts Express the next day so he could spend some time with his friends.  Of course, Dumbledore permitted him to do this, and immediately showed James where the prefect rooms were so he could get some rest. 

(Back with Lily running away)

Lily flew out her bedroom window, not once looking back at the place she was ashamed to call home.  She flew the long journey through the bitter cold to Hogwarts, where, upon arrival, she collapsed on the grounds in front of the stairs.  Dumbledore, luckily, was out for a night stroll and happened to find her.  After telling him about her problems, she asked for his permission to ride the Hogwarts Express the next day so she could see Danni.  Of course, Dumbledore allowed her to do this, and showed Lily where her bedroom would be.

As Lily was walking up to her room, she could've sworn she saw someone else in the Gryffindor common room. 'Hmm,' she thought.  'Must've just been my imagination.' With that, she went to bed.  She and James never ran into each other for the entire night or the next morning.

"LILS!"

"DANNI!"

The two girls hugged as soon as they saw each other.  "Lilsy! How are you! I haven't seen you all summer! I heard about what happened with your parents, Dumbledore owled me and told me about you running away and everything.  I'm really sorry, is there anything I can do?"  
          "Nah, just knowing that I've got the coolest best friend in the world is enough for me!" They hugged each other again.

          "Hey, don't I get a hug?" a male voice sounded from outside the compartment.  Danni turned around. "REMUS!!!!" She jumped on him and gave him a huge hug. "I've missed you so much! I never got to see you all summer! How are you? Oh, Remie!!"  Lily smiled, shook her head, and lay down across one row of compartment chairs to read.  

          "Hey, Lily! How was your summer?" Remus asked her.

          "Oh, just peachy," she responded grumpily.  "I suppose Dumbledore owled you too about my parents?"  
          "Yeah," he said. "I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do?" 

          "No, it's alright.  I'll be fine, don't wor-"  Lily was cut off by the compartment door sliding open yet again.  Two tall figures appeared in the doorway.

          "Hey y'all!" Sirius said cheerfully.  "Hope you don't mind if we join the party?"

          "Nah, no problem!" Danni welcomed them in.  James walked in and saw Lily reading in the corner, completely oblivious to the world around them.  'Wow,' he thought. 'She's not too bad looking.  I mean, she is kind of pale and her eyes are plain, but hey, I might as well, seeing as I have to work with her all year…'  He walked over and sat down next to her.

          "Hey," he said quietly.  "I'm James Potter, the Head Boy this year."  
          She looked up. "Hi," she said.  "Lily Evans. Head Girl." She then went back to reading her book, which James tried to see the cover of.  He finally saw that she was reading "Gone With the Wind", one of his personal favorites.

          "That's a good book," he commented. Lily's head shot up yet again. "Gone With the Wind," James said.  "One of my favorites."  
          "Really?" Lily asked, "I've never met anyone else who hasn't thought it was boring."  
          "Wow," James said.  "I think it's great! It's not boring at all.  I love the character Rhett, reminds me of Sirius in a way!" They both laughed over this.  "Well, I suppose I should be heading off with the boys, we don't want to intrude too much," James said a little louder so everyone else could hear.  

          "Bye, y'all," Sirius said.

          "Bye Danni, bye Lily," Remus said, giving Danni a hug.

          "Bye guys!" they both called.

          "So, Lils," Danni said slyly once the boys were gone.  "I saw you talking with James.  He's not bad, is he?"

          "No, I suppose not," Lily said, not taking her eyes off her book.  Danni noticed, however, that they seemed to be paused on one part of the page, as if she had stopped reading to think.

          "See! All you have to do it let people into your life a little more! And for crying out loud, stop wearing foundation and those brown contacts! God made you with green eyes and freckled skin for a reason you know!" Danni smiled as she spoke.

          "Eh, maybe later this year," Lily said.  "Who knows? Maybe this year will change everything…"


	2. Author's Note

Hey!! It's Lauri from the JeminyGirls. Sorry I didn't include this earlier.  All characters in this fanfic belong to J.K. Rowling, NOT ME!! The only characters that belong to me are the ones you don't recognize. Ok, thanks, and enjoy!


	3. In the Carriage Part 1

Chapter 2

Lily and Danni stepped off the train.  Home, they were finally home! The two girls talked for a while as they rode in the carriages up to the castle.  Danni was, once again, trying to convince Lily to stop wearing the foundation and take out her colored contacts. 

"Lils, you just don't understand! You're GORGEOUS without them! I mean, it's not like you're ugly with the pale skin and all, but you'd be so much prettier if you could just learn to accept the way you were made!" Danni complained.

 "Danni, I've always stood out from everyone else.  That's why Mom hates me so much! 'Cause I'm not "anything like Petunia!" She's afraid of me being different! She's scarred me for life and I don't know if I'll ever be able to heal!" Lily explained.

 "Maybe you just need someone to help you…" Danni muttered under her breath.

Lily's head shot up. "What was that?" she asked sharply.  "I do not need ANYONE to help me, Danni! You and Remus are my only true friends, and what you give me is enough. I don't need someone to rescue me or play the hero, I'm perfectly capable of handling my parents on my own!"

 "Whatever you say, Lils. Oh, hey! Look! It's the boys! Looks like they need a carriage to sit in. Can we invite them in ours? PLEASE?" she begged.

Lily sighed. "Oh, all right. But don't expect me to get all buddy-buddy with them! I can't just change overnight.  This will take a while, you know."

 "Oh, THANK YOU LILY!" Danni jumped forward and hugged Lily just as the guys opened the carriage door.

'Well,' Lily thought, 'here goes nothing.'


	4. In the Carriage Part 2 and Secrets

The door to the carriage slid open, and Sirius's face popped in.  "Hi, y'all! Mind if we sit in here with you two? The only other carriage left was with Snape," he said, a disgusted look on his face.

"Sure, sounds great!" Danni smiled.  Sirius climbed in the carriage and sat on one side of Danni. Remus climbed in next and sat on her other side, his arm around her waist.  They all waited for James to come in, but after 5 minutes, there was still no sign of him.  Lily, who was getting pretty fed up with waiting, climbed out of the carriage to find James staring at a blank space in front of it.

"James?" she asked quietly. "James? Are you alright?"

"Can you see it?" he whispered.

"Huh? See what?"

"Them," he replied, his eyes still wide in shock. "Those… creatures! They're horrifying! Can't you see them?"

"James, I think you need to get in the carriage. Come on," Lily soothed, taking his arm and pulling him in the carriage after her.  His eyes didn't leave that spot of air, however, until the carriage door was completely shut.  For the rest of the carriage ride, Sirius, Remus, and Danni had a long discussion about their favorite Quidditch teams. Lily was pretending to read "Gone with the Wind," but she was really watching James stare out the carriage window.  He still had that strange, dazed look on his face.  She decided that she would ask him about who "they" were that night before they both went to bed.

THUMP! The carriage jerked to a halt, sending its occupants flying everywhere.  The 5 teens ended up in a big pile, with Lily on the bottom.  Danni and Sirius just laughed it off and got back up. As Danni was helping Remus up, however, Remus couldn't help but notice the way that James had landed on Lily.  He was facing her, straddling her legs with his hands to either side of her shoulders. They were both just staring at each other, entranced. James began to lower his head down to hers… He was only centimeters away, when BAM! The carriage jolted back into motion, sending James rolling off of Lily, who jumped up immediately and ran to sit down in the corner, where she continued to bury her face in her book and "read." James just stayed on the floor, staring at the ceiling, until Remus offered him a hand up. The two boys then joined Sirius and Danni, who were still arguing about Quidditch teams. Although they kept inviting James into the conversation, the most he could ever do was nod his head or say "yeah, I know," (or something along those lines.) His eyes were fixed on Lily, who had begun to doze off where she was reading.

'Did I really just do that?' he asked himself.  'Was I really about to KISS her? Thank God nobody saw! At least, I don't think anyone did… Oh man, does this mean I'm actually starting to like somebody? I can't let this happen! And what were those creepy creatures pulling the carriages? Why couldn't Lily see them? Lily…' he had been thinking so much that he didn't notice the carriages had come to a complete stop and Danni, Remus, and Sirius were already outside the door.

"James!" Danni called. "Can you do us a favor and wake Lily up? We'll meet you both back at the castle!" 

"Yeah, sure," he called to them. "See you there." He wandered over to where Lily had fallen asleep. Her hair, which had been in a bun for all 7 years at Hogwarts that he could remember, was falling out a little around her face, framing her pale skin. In fact, if James looked close enough, he thought he could see some kind of powder on her face.  He was about to wipe it off with his index finger when he caught himself. 'No,' he thought. 'I've got to wake her up.' 

"Lily," he said quietly. "Lily," he said a little louder when he got no reaction. "Lily?" he asked, shaking her a little. Finally, her eyes shot open.

"What? What happened? Who are y- oh, James… hi…" she said, casting her head down at the end. Clearly she was still embarrassed from earlier. "Was I sleeping?"

"Yeah," he said, backing away and offering her his hand to get up. "The others have left, it's time to start heading back to the castle."

"Oh, alright. Thanks for not leaving me here," she said. Lily stepped out of the carriage and quickly walked to the castle. James stayed behind, watching her as she walked.  There was something mysterious about her, something that made him want to find out more… he knew she was hiding something, he just needed to figure out what.

It was now after the opening feast in the Great Hall, and Lily was in her new Head Girl room, putting on her pajamas and getting ready for bed.  It was only about 8:30, but she was exhausted for some reason.  She slipped on her nightgown, took out her contacts, and washed the foundation off of her face.  She then took her hair out of its tight, high bun and let it flow down to her waist.  After combing it out, she climbed into her bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off into a dream…

_It was dark. Very dark.  So dark, in fact, that she couldn't see anything anywhere.  She knew there was another presence there, however; her natural instincts told her so.  Suddenly, she felt a hand reach out. It gently touched her arm, turning her towards it's body.  The mysterious figure muttered an incantation, and candles were lit all around the room.  Lily looked up at the figure and saw a tall young man with dark hair and hazel eyes. She couldn't make out anything else besides that.  Those eyes… she knew she had seen them somewhere before, she just couldn't place them on someone.  The figure began to lean his head down so it was just a breath away from hers. She felt strong arms encircle her waist, drawing her closer… his lips had just brushed hers when-_

Lily shot up in bed.  'What was THAT?' she asked herself. 'More like who was that? Was I really just dreaming about kissing some random guy? But those eyes… I've seen those eyes before…' Looking at the clock, Lily saw that it was 11:30 PM.  After 10 more minutes of trying to get back to sleep, she decided that she wouldn't be drifting off anytime soon. Lily stepped out of bed and pulled a bathrobe on over her nightgown. She then walked into the bathroom and put in her brown contacts, 'Just in case,' she told herself. After putting her hair into a messy bun, Lily stepped into her slippers walked down to the Head Boy/Girl common room.  Once there, she sat on the couch in front of the fire, not bothering to look around her.  She sat there, her eyes transfixed on the fire, when a deep voice rang out from her left.

"Can't sleep?" Lily whirled around at the sound of the voice and saw that James was sitting in an armchair next to the couch. She blushed when she saw he was only wearing pajama pants and a bathrobe that was left untied in the front, giving her a nice view of his muscular chest… 'Whoah!' Lily asked herself. 'Since WHEN do I like looking at guys' chests?' 

"I had a weird dream," Lily said, not daring to look him in the face for fear of blushing again. 

"Care to explain?" he asked.

"Um, not really…"

"Come on, I'll tell you what I saw outside the carriages!" he pleaded.

Oh yes! She had almost forgotten about that! "Fine," she said.  "I dreamt that I was in a dark room with some guy… all I remember are his eyes, they're difficult to explain, but I can see them in my head.  Anyways, he tried to kiss me but then I woke up." Lily said the last sentence in a rush.

James blushed. Lily suddenly realized that the dream figure could have very well been James, since he HAD tried to kiss her that same day! "Well," he said. "That's… interesting."

Lily cleared her throat. "Um, yeah. You said you'd tell me what you saw now. Tell!" 

James looked away. "They were these winged creatures, black and ghostly and really creepy. I'd never noticed them before… not until this year, anyways…" The tone of his voice made Lily turn to look at him. He had turned his head around and was now looking directly at her. She lifted her head up and met his gaze.  Lily gasped. In his eyes, she saw loneliness, darkness, and pain.  He had obviously suffered a lot in his life.  'Kind of like me,' Lily subconsciously thought.  

"You're hiding something," Lily whispered. James broke her gaze and looked away.  

"Maybe," he said softly.

"You can tell me," she said comfortingly.  He looked at her again and smiled.

"I know," he said. "It's just… so hard, you know? Telling other people who might not understand what it's like to have problems in their life."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Lily said, grimacing at the thought of her parents as she looked away, too. "Come on, James. Tell me what's bothering you."

"Alright," he sighed.  "Well, it's… my parents. They abuse me. My dad is a big fat idiot who drinks all the time and my mom is a first class slut.  My dad beats me up when he's drunk, and when he's sober he calls me bad names and makes me work all the time.  I doubt my mom even knows I exist," he said sadly.  James looked at Lily and, to his surprise, saw a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "Lily? Are you… what's wrong with you?" Lily leaped forward and threw her arms around his neck.

"James! Oh, James! You understand! You get it! I'm not the only one! Oh, thank you, God, for sending him to me! Thank you!" she continued to cry and hugged him tighter. A moment later, she released him. "James, I have problems with my parents too! My mom abuses me and calls me bad names! My dad is really intimidated by her and just doesn't acknowledge me. My sister is a slut and I haven't seen her since I was 7. Don't you get it, James? We're not alone! All my life I've thought I was the only one with bad parents, but now I've got someone who understands!"

James stared wide-eyed at her. He never would have thought that Lily Evans, the smartest and most perfect girl in his year, could have an abusive life. He had to agree with her, though. He had always thought that he was alone. He never knew that there were other people whose parents abused them, too.  A smile crept across his face, and he opened his arms, allowing Lily to fall back into them again.  He closed his eyes as he embraced her, suddenly not feeling as alone as he had before.


End file.
